Last spring, an expedition from the Archaeological Museum of Westphalia-Lippe made an important discovery: a unique ancient weapon was discovered near the town of Haltern am See (Haltern am See). In a Roman burial place on the shore of a lake, there was an elaborately decorated dagger of a Roman legionnaire, as well as a belt and scabbard: such a complete set had never been found during excavations in Europe. The well-preserved artifacts date back to the 1st century AD.
The cleaning process from corrosion took almost a year; the work was carried out by restorers from a workshop in Münster. Now rare items are presented to the public. On the hilt and scabbard, one can see rich ornaments, including shiny threads interspersed with iron. They were made from sheets of silver about 0.15-0.2 millimeters thick. In addition, the dagger has inserts made of red glass and enamel, which is a mixture of various minerals.
X-rays showed that the handle of the dagger was made up of many separate pieces connected by pins, and the blade of the dagger was forged from various types of steel that were welded together. The weapon belt is also prefabricated: its skin is tightly upholstered with plates of bronze or brass, covered with tin - in order to create the impression that they are made of more expensive silver. There are two hooks on the belt, on which a dagger was hung with the help of leather loops.
The found artifact is one of the oldest Roman military daggers of the "Vindonissa" type (lat. Pugio). Such weapons were widespread in the first half of the 1st century; armed infantrymen used it in close combat. A similar dagger was found in the same region in 1967, but it lacked bright decorations, scabbard and belt. More modest and poorer preserved blades have also been encountered by archaeologists from northern Italy to Britain.
Even the place where the artifact was found is unusual: not in the most ancient cemetery, consisting of burial mounds, but in the surrounding ditch. According to one of the versions, the weapon was laid separately, as a token of memory to all those buried, but scientists have no exact explanation.